Three Windcrest city councilmen face possible recall

Three Windcrest city councilmen will be the subject of a May recall election as a result of a mid-January petition drive signed by more than 460 residents.

Windcrest resident Liz Dick on Jan. 19 turned in to City Hall administrators separate petitions that target Councilmen Gerd Jacobi, Place 1; James McFall, Place 2; and Jim Shelton, Place 3, in recall elections.

A fourth petition seeks to repeal the creation of the Windcrest Volunteer Fire Department Bugle Crew.

Dick said petitions to recall seated City Council members have to include signatures from at least 25 percent of the number of people who voted in the most recent city election. That number, from the city’s November 2017 vote, was 1,656 voters, which means 415 verifiable signatures are needed.

The number for the referendum recall is only 20 percent of the previous vote total.

“We have over 460 (signatures) for each one that we verified ourselves with Bexar County Elections, and we turned them in on Jan. 19,” she said. “The city has 10 calendar days to certify (the validity of signatures as registered voters), which means I should hear something back … on the 29th.”

Once verified, Dick said, the city’s charter states the elected official may resign or allow the matter to go to election. The May election will have to be certified at the next council meeting, which is set for Feb. 19.

Hob Cunningham, one of three petition drive organizers with Sherillyn Flick and Dick, explained why he joined the effort.

“My big issue is lack of respect. You have a charter that’s supposed to be the guidelines, the rule book,” Cunningham said. “If you don’t use it, then why have it? Any time anyone brings alternative ideas up to (City Council), they are disrespected.”

The drive to launch the recall began in October, Dick said, when the City Council first voted to form the WVFD Bugle Crew, an organization that would replace the Windcrest Volunteer Fire Association, which has represented the city’s volunteer firemen and women for several decades.

“The main thing,” she added, “was the creation of this Bugle Crew, which is a total violation of our charter. We have a good fire association, they are still in good standing with the IRS, and they are still raising money.

“It’s the blatant disrespect for our charter. When they created the Bugle Crew, that motivated me. That’s when we said, ‘Something needs to be done.’”

Council members who are subjected to the recall said there is no merit to the petition group’s claims.

“We’re not violating the city charter in any way, shape or form,” Jacobi said. “It’s basically a witch hunt.”

Councilman McFall agreed with Jacobi.

“Our attorney is telling us that there’s no merit to any of this. We didn’t just pull (our decisions) out of a hat,” McFall said. “There is nothing in there that they are complaining about that has not been approved by our city attorney.

“We’re caught up in a situation of trying to protect our citizens. We feel we’ve been very straight and very sincere with our actions. There’s a lot of misinformation going on that’s just muddied the water,” McFall added.